A taste of Flynn's roasting...

[Roland99]

Link to tweet

Link to tweet

Seth chiming in too

Link to tweet

Note, though, that given major-media reports—see PROOF OF COLLUSION—that Flynn was negotiating sanctions with Kislyak pre-election, and Trump's verbal tics suggesting he knew of/ordered those talks, Mueller might choose *not* to reveal that today to hold his cards close on Trump.

2/ Flynn was also heavily involved in some aspects of the "grand bargain" component of Trump-Russia collusion—acting as a go-between between certain Middle Eastern nations and Trump on the possibility of Trump giving nuclear tech to those nations. That too may stay closely held.

3/ Mueller isn't *obligated* to reveal everything he and Flynn discussed—only what he chooses to reveal and feels is necessary to guide the court in sentencing. If—for instance—he thinks Flynn has been highly cooperative and isn't seeking a hefty sentence, he can leave much out.

4/ Consider what happened with Papadopoulos. Mueller changed his mind on how well Papadopoulos cooperated, so he put *more* inculpatory facts into his sentencing memo. But if Papadopoulos—or Flynn—were highly cooperative, he might choose not to lay out as many inculpatory facts

[Cirque du So-What]

1. Roasting?

Incineration is more like it.

[vlyons]

2. and by a 3 star general, no less

Benedict Arnold awaits his arrival in Hell

[Baitball Blogger]

3. Is the entire Steele Dossier available?

[Roland99]

4. Try this...

https://www.scribd.com/document/369319684/The-Steele-Dossier

[Baitball Blogger]

10. Got it, thank you. Very revealing!

[Hermit-The-Prog]

29. buzzfeed broke the news

Article includes dossier.

https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/kenbensinger/these-reports-allege-trump-has-deep-ties-to-russia

[Roland99]

5. And MORE from Seth. Jesus. This guy's the Collusion Energizer bunny!

https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1069968225696399361.html

(THREAD) What can we expect from the Flynn sentencing memo today—bombshells, or a more muted presentation? This thread considers some of the possibilities, and their consequences, as we close in on a major milestone in the Mueller investigation. I hope you'll read on and retweet.

1/ As with George Papadopoulos, Mueller only charged Flynn with 1 count of Making False Statements before he secured his cooperation on a host of Trump-Russia collusion-related issues that he *hadn't* charged. That means the amount of time Flynn can get in prison is very limited.

2/ That fact raises a question about how much it benefits Mueller to reveal the full extent of the information he received from Flynn. If he wanted Flynn to do the maximum amount of time on the one charge brought against him, he *could* put in all the inculpatory evidence he has.

3/ On the other hand, revealing certain evidence today could be harmful to indictments Mueller wants to issue tomorrow—perhaps against individuals "above" Flynn. So today presents Mueller with a complex balancing act of short- and long-term investigative and prosecutorial goals.

4/ The more Mueller reveals, the more the court learns that could lead it to harshly sentence Flynn on the one count against him. But the more Flynn cooperated, the more Mueller may be all right with some leniency, giving him the leeway to *not* reveal everything Flynn gave him.

5/ Mueller also could *redact* certain information, or otherwise get the court to place certain information under seal, allowing him to both present it to the court for consideration for a harsher sentencing while *also* keeping it from public view for the sake of future charges.

6/ So Mueller must balance all five of these considerations:

1. Flynn's level of cooperation.
2. His desired outcome in the Flynn sentencing.
3. The danger of current revelations to future cases.
4. The public's right/need to know.
5. His need to get info out before he's fired.

7/ Redactions can help Mueller craft the cost/benefit matrix this memo is. So too would alluding to certain conduct in terms that don't reveal all he has on that issue. So too would leaving out intel Flynn gave him that's not inculpatory as to Flynn but inculpatory as to others.

8/ In short, what we should look for, broadly, are signs of how cooperative and useful Mueller feels Flynn has been in the year since he entered a plea. Given that Flynn is at the heart of many of the allegations of collusion, if he's deemed *very* useful that tells us something.

9/ A danger for journalists and laypeople today is focusing on *just* the facts Mueller reveals and *not* the through-line of what kind of witness Flynn was broadly seen to be. If we focus just on those—possibly deliberately limited—facts, we could come to some wrong conclusions.

10/ In essence, today's memo can only *further* the case for collusion with any key facts it reveals. The chance that an *absence* of key facts (or simply fewer than we'd like to see) means conclusively that Flynn had little to offer the Mueller investigation is far smaller. /end

PS/ One thing I do want to emphasize, though, is that Flynn *is* one of the *key* witnesses in Mueller's collusion case. So its certainly true that if the case is what experts think it to be, Flynn's cooperation and testimony *is* crucial. Flynn's role in collusion was expansive.

[erronis]

19. Thanks much for this and the link. We're so lucky to have smart people

here at DU and also working to uncover the treachery of the trump/putin/plutocrat mob.

[FakeNoose]

35. Yes he's quite prolific

I believe Abramson is using this Trump-Russia material in his law school classes. (He's a professor) That would explain why he's up to date on all this stuff. Also I believe he has contacts that follow Russian social media and Russian news, or maybe he's fluent in Russian himself. He seems to have a lot of wide-ranging info available.

[PatSeg]

6. So this man was director of military intelligence?

I would have thought that "intelligence" would have been a qualification.

The whole damn bunch is dumber than dirt!

[lunatica]

9. Kinda squashes that sense of National Security doesn't it?

That warm feeling that we’re in good hands, protected, safe in the hands of the most patriotic and intelligent people.

[PatSeg]

11. I agree

How many more Mike Flynns are out there protecting us? At least Obama realized he was unsuitable and fired him.

[Haggis for Breakfast]

34. I think we're forgetting men like

John Brennan, James Clapper, Mike Hayden if we allow traitors like Flynn to be the bar by which we measure national security officials.

[dlk]

16. It's Their Narcissism and Grandiose Sense of Importance & Entitlement

When you look at it, the entire GOP exhibits many of the characteristics of Narcissistic Personality Disorder, from the exaggerated sense of self and feelings of entitlement, on down through lack of empathy and taking advantage of others to get what they want. It's not just Trump with NPD. There's an epidemic on the right and we are all paying the price.

[PatSeg]

18. Yes, this is true

"I've got mine" party who never has enough. Also, they are chronic victims.

[LittleGirl]

24. Spot on !!!

That is it exactly! Thanks for the light bulb moment reading that! Cheers.

[bigbrother05]

20. Which is why Obama fired him

He had attained a level of leadership that indicated he could handle the job. When it became clear he was misusing the office to his own purposes he was removed.

[PatSeg]

26. And has been resentful ever since

Resentful enough to commit treason evidently.

[Nitram]

27. Resentment of a promotion he didn't get but thought he deserved was Benedict Arnold's reason for

treason.

[bigbrother05]

32. Yep, Flynn isn't nearly as sharp as he thinks he is

[PatSeg]

33. Whoa

The more things change, the more they stay the same. The world is full of self-absorbed people who don't think through the consequences of their actions.

[djacq]

7. Lock them up!

[George II]

15. Indeed.

[dlk]

17. Watching Karma is a Beautiful Thing!

[Hermit-The-Prog]

30. I want to see Hillary cross them off

It would be great to see Hillary cross off the chanters one by one as they are indicted. "There goes another one. Lock him up!"

[left-of-center2012]

8. "the possibility of Trump giving nuclear tech to those nations"

[George II]

12. What bothers me a little bit is that since he's cooperating, this blatant treason....

....is going to be mostly forgiven and he won't pay the price that other treasonous people have.

BUT, on the other hand, hopefully much of what he's been telling Mueller and gang will bring down the top guy and end this "long national nightmare".

[Roland99]

13. I agree. We're seeing pretty major crimes being, essentially, washed away with minimal sentences

There must a LOT waiting in the wings for those higher up the Treason Train!

[dlk]

14. It Started With Agnew Getting Away with Bribery and Extortion and Not Going to Prison

And on down the line with the Republicans who were never punished for their serious crimes. It set a precedent, unfortunately.

[roscoeroscoe]

21. Great point

Like a certain Governor of Alaska...

[ffr]

22. And Pence lied about what he knew about Flynn too. Let's not forget that.

Pence probably knew Flynn was a foreign agent and did nothing except lie to the press about it.

[flamingdem]

23. This should be a headline

the possibility of Trump giving nuclear tech to those nations.

[LittleGirl]

25. Amazing post

Thanks for sharing!

[Hekate]

28. What a long fall from an honored trusted position as a US General to bribed traitor...

Someday I'd like to know (briefly) what was the arc of this man's thinking and behavior.

[peggysue2]

31. I recall listening to Wilkerson, Colin Powell's former chief-of-staff/aide say . . .

that Flynn could not and would not get a handle on his anger, all stemming from President Obama dismissing him as defense intelligence chief. Flynn claimed it was for holding opposing views on Islamic extremism but US officials said it was for insubordination, failing to follow orders.

A lot of ego involved in all this and like the Trumpster, General Flynn appears to have been vindictive enough to blow up his entire career and life to get even. As well as compromising his own country which he had sworn an oath to protect.

This entire Administration is comprised of broken, angry, greedy and delusional people.

Perfect marks for Putin and his gang. How easily they fell.